Join Sophia and special guest, Davy Grace, as they unpack the struggles of job-hunting, getting ghosted after interviews, and the struggle of imposter syndrome.
{Music Open (0:08) and under voiceover}
SOPHIA STEELE: Welcome to (Un)Qualified, where we explore life post-graduation with advice from one baby adult to another. Join us as we talk about job applications, imposter syndrome, and the realization that no one’s really qualified for this whole life thing. I’m your host Sophia Steele. Let’s get into how to live your life now– no qualifications required!
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SOPHIA STEELE: Hello everyone! Today we’re focusing on the first real steps of adulthood. You’ve finally graduated and now you’re wondering what to do next. You realize although you may have a degree, you still have a lot of questions about how to be a qualified adult. How do you find a job? What should you spend your money on? And goodness, what the heck is FICA?
{Play FRIENDS audio}
RACHEL: I wiped tables for it! I steamed milk for it! And it was totally… not worth it. Who’s FICA? Why’s he getting all my money?
SOPHIA STEELE: To be honest, I did people’s taxes for a year and I still don’t know what FICA is. In all seriousness though, a lot of people leave college and feel like they don’t really understand anything about adulting. That they’re unqualified when it comes to taxes, rent, job-hunting and so many other things that are necessary for functioning as an adult. But the good news is– you’re not the only one. There are a lot of people who seem like they know what they’re doing, but they’re winging it just like the rest of us. Today I’m talking to my good friend Davy Grace, a fellow baby adult who’s also figuring out her next steps in life.
{Music interlude (0:50)}
SOPHIA STEELE: Hi Davy thanks for making time to come on the show! How are you today?
DAVY GRACE: Hi, thank you so much for having me. I’m doing great. Apologies in advance. I’ve been a little under the weather the past couple of weeks. So hopefully, my voice is consistent.
SOPHIA STEELE: I completely get that; allergies and the rain. It’s just so bad lately. So I wanted to talk to you today about life post-grad. And I know that recently, you just finished a job out yonder, at Utah, right?
DAVY GRACE: I sure did.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah. So I was wondering if you could talk about your experience of doing the first ‘big girl’ job post-college life.
DAVY GRACE: I am a theater designer, stage manager, bit of directing on the side. But yeah, so I’ve been out in the professional world now for just over two years, just finished my very first gig as we call it. And it was so much fun. It’s definitely one of those things where you are learning a lot just by being in a new environment. I’m a South Carolina native, so it was really nice to step outside my, kind of like, Southern culture and experience a wonderful part of the West. And yeah, I was out there for just over a year doing a bunch of theater shows and had so much fun and learned a whole lot to build upon the foundations that my undergraduate education set me up for. So it was really awesome.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, that sounds like it was really awesome. So obviously, you know, going from South Carolina to God knows how many miles away to Utah is a big shift, not to mention being like just in a new location starting a job. Do you feel like you were prepared in undergrad, either from professors or parents or mentors for life post-grad, just with all the big decisions of moving, finding a house, making friends in your 20s?
DAVY GRACE: Yeah, so thankfully, I had had the opportunity while I was still in university to experience some jobs outside of my state. So the very first professional gig I ever did was in Tennessee, I spent a summer just outside of Nashville. And that was really, really awesome. And my mentors and professors at the time, were so excited to see me grow kind of to get my foot in the door in that part of the industry. And again, I had a huge amount of support from my professors and my college friends. And then for this gig that I had in Utah, when I was over there for initial interviews, I was on the phone with my mentor, like day of you know, asking her advice.
SOPHIA STEELE: Aw that’s always good to hear! We love the supportive mentors. I know some universities connect people with mentors and professors, so would you say yours was fairly helpful in that sense?
DAVY GRACE: In terms of being directly set up for success? My University’s specific theater program did not do an excellent job at connecting us with individuals in the professional world.
SOPHIA STEELE: Oh wow, really?
DAVY GRACE: I felt a great amount of pride because I had kind of made this door open for myself, but at the same time, I kind of felt disappointed in the fact that I kind of felt I was just guessing my way to the right answer. So a bit of a double-edged sword there for sure.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, definitely. Do you think, so like you said that you kind of had to be proactive with finding jobs making those connections because their program didn’t really do that which a lot of undergrad programs I can relate, they’re not the best at that sometimes. Have you talked to people who maybe weren’t as proactive about like finding those job opportunities? And like, do you think that your experience has been different from there just because you’ve had the support system, and you took the time and initiation to like, kind of go out there and find your own things?
DAVY GRACE: I mean, definitely the more that I you know, a get older, but b learn from other people’s experiences, and even, you know, watch interviews with actors who have done this for years and kind of learn what their side of the entertainment industry is in the big leagues, you know, Hollywood and all that. I think a large amount of anyone’s success in general is how like, internally motivated they are and how much they seek something out and want it for themselves. But I do think it’s kind of sad for some people who are fresh out of college really wanting to study what they majored in, and they don’t have the motivation to kind of find those doors. And they give up.
SOPHIA STEELE: I guess that does make sense, especially if you know you have to be proactive and choose not to be.
DAVY GRACE: Yeah I think it’s really interesting.
SOPHIA STEELE: Speaking of being proactive about pursuing opportunities, let’s talk about every recent graduate’s favorite topic: getting a job.
{Play Arrested Development audio}
MICHAEL: I got a job… Something you apply for and then they pay you to…nevermind I
don’t want to ruin the surprise.
SOPHIA STEELE: Personally I would say the experience of trying to land a job is a surprise– just not a good one.
DAVY GRACE: Haha it’s horrid! It’s horrid.
SOPHIA STEELE: It is very horrid. So since you’ve finished up your time, with your job at Utah, and everything, do you have– I know this is like a question everyone hates being asked like outside of school, but like, do you have plans for your next move, or like any ideas or thoughts of where you’re gonna go next?
DAVY GRACE: I have a lot of thoughts. I’ve always been the type of person who likes to have, you know, seven different options of what could be next. And at this time, just I have a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that I haven’t really committed to the next big thing. I definitely know it’s still gonna be entertainment. And you know, I’m excited to see what comes next. And you know, thankful to have the people around me who will support my decision whether I decide to continue my education immediately or decide to do some more gigs before I do that, for sure.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, so one of the things that like me and some other people that are our age that are doing the job hunting, sending out resumes and applications, we’ve kind of noticed that there’s a lot of places that say they’re hiring, but then when we apply, we either get ghosted, or it’s like, no, you don’t have enough experience for this entry-level job. And I was wondering if you had any experience with that, or basically people saying they’re hiring and then apparently not.
DAVY GRACE: Oh my word. Yes. It’s so funny to talk about this, because I was just at lunch earlier this week with one of my dearest friends in the industry. And we are both in this season of trying to decide what’s next. And so therefore, we’ve both been applying to a lot of different jobs and a lot of different spaces and places and that kind of thing. And we’ve both experienced the sending applications out and just not hearing back. And honestly, for me, it’s just frustrating to not hear. I’m kind of that person who I’d rather hear you tell me you can’t use me right now than to not hear anything. So it’s been incredibly frustrating. But it was nice to hear from my friend that I was not the only one experiencing that. And I know for a fact that it’s not, you know, just my industry that’s experiencing that, but I don’t really know what their angle is, I guess in terms from a marketing standpoint, but it’s definitely something that is really frustrating and honestly can be extremely disappointing when you’ve sent out a plethora of resumes and just aren’t hearing anything back.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, it’s definitely it’s definitely not just your industry. I’ve definitely experienced that myself. I feel like recently just with like social media, more people are willing to talk about the job rejections. Do you think that like our age group that like the culture of like, being able to talk about these things that maybe were looked down upon in the past, like being rejected by a job or being ghosted by job that now that we’re talking about and more is kind of creating a sense of community for like baby adults and letting us know, we’re not alone in these issues?
DAVY GRACE: Definitely. I think so. And I think the important thing within that is to recognize, okay, I’m not alone in not hearing anything, or in getting these rejections. But I still need to find that motivation, whether it’s within myself or by the encouragement of other people to keep applying, because the worst thing that we can do is to stop applying to stop pursuing the dreams that we think we were put on this planet to fulfill because no one has said yes or no one’s getting back. It’s wonderful to have that community of knowing you’re not alone when these negative things are happening, and then to hopefully use that community as a form of encouragement to keep pursuing your dreams and to encourage others and build them up in that sense while they build you up in that sense, too.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, for sure if you could say something to, like all the other baby adults fresh out of grad school, undergrad, or just even people who recently had a career change, and they’re just trying to get a new job. Or if it’s just something that you would like to tell yourself, like what’s like one piece of encouragement that you would offer to people in the job hunt and just dealing with adulthood in general.
DAVY GRACE: I think particularly in relation to this topic, it would be what everyone is going to say, which is don’t give up, keep pursuing your dreams, but ultimately know that you are going to end up exactly where you need to be exactly when you need to be.
SOPHIA STEELE: Yeah, that is such a great way of putting that and it’s definitely really good advice just for someone who’s like also trying to find jobs, but also just in living life to, like, you know what you’re doing matters. And even though it’s hard being an adult, like it’s gonna pay off if you just keep biting forward and stuff like that.
DAVY GRACE: Definitely.
SOPHIA STEELE: I think that is all the time that we have. So thank you for taking the time to speak to me today. This was so great just hearing advice from someone who’s like actively in the adult job hunting world.
DAVY GRACE: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. This has been so fun!
{Music Interlude (11:04) and under voiceover}
SOPHIA STEELE: If you still have some questions about how to be a qualified adult. Check out the resources available in our show notes. Thanks for listening. And remember, you’re always qualified.
{Music Close}
SHOW NOTES:
“Click Click (Instrumental)” created by Grünemusik, provided by Openverse
“FICA” audio from FRIENDS
“I got a job” audio from Arrested Development
Header image by Nik on Unsplash
Ghosted by an employer? Don’t get mad – do this instead by Amanda Datchens
FICA explained by the Social Security Administration
5 Tips for Finding a Mentor in College by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars